I’ll start out with my only criticism, cause every kid eats their vegetables first and leaves dessert for last: I wish you would have given more examples at the end of the piece regarding what you are specifically talking about. You mentioned players and moves, but you speak almost entirely in broad terms. What moves really bother you – specifically, what led you to write this – and what do you want done? Other than that, fantastic.

Personally, you’re 20 year table is quite sad. As a long time fan, I was aware of the Flyers 1st round exit or CF run history. It’s one or the other (5 of those 6 missed playoffs were from 89-90 to 93-94.) every year. I did a 10 year that is much more favorable to the Flyers (vs. Pittsburgh anyway) but still reveals something is lacking. These numbers tell a better story, with the asterisk of our fantastic Eagles-like run starting 94-95 to present.

Personally, I don’t think losing Metro was that big (guys like him are a dime a dozen) especially considering how poorly his offensive production was this year. Obviously, I cannot speak to his locker room leadership. Vaananen was a guy I liked. I compare him to Matt Carle, in a good way. (People get on Carle, but relax. He does his job defensively) Vaananen was relatively cheap, provided veteran leadership on a young defense, and blocked a ton of shots. Yeah, he doesn’t have Carle’s offensive potential, but neither score a lot anyway. I think his waiving was a 6-7 on the mistake scale. (Eight if they had somebody asking about Randy Jones, but I digress.) Lastly, Upshall’s departure was of greater importance. Yeah, he’s not going to score 30 goals, but he could easily score 20, he just wasn’t this year. Nor was he getting enough ice time, or given an opportunity to mesh with linemates (Upshall, Giroux, Briere always looked nice, didn’t it?) with Danny’s injury, Giroux’s mid-season call up, and Powe moving up and down the lines. I would rate his trade a solid 7 on the mistake scale. I know that’s ridiculous that Vaananen’s departure is tied, but considering that Upshall was a RFA at year’s end, wasn’t exactly a bargain at his current deal, expected a pay raise, and was still more potential than performance, trading him wasn’t a terrible idea. Yes, it really messed with the chemistry (from what I can tell, it seemed pretty obvious, but again, noone knows for sure) and the second round pick made the trade a steal for Phoenix, but we were in danger of being over the cap. Something had to be done, even if it was done poorly.

Continuing, discussing Clarke’s bad decisions is not worth noting because a) they’re too many in number; and b) Homer is trying to take the team in a new direction. That’s not a knock against Clarke – he tried. And when you’re the GM for that long, your list of accomplishments and failures are many, on both sides. On to Holmgren. His signings:

• Mike Knuble – signed (2 yr/$2.8M) (11/06)
• Sami Kapanen – signed (2 yr/$2.5M) (2/07)
• Martin Biron – signed (2 yr/$3.5M) (3/07)
• Scottie Upshall – signed (2 yr/$1.225M) (5/07)
• Lasse Kukkonen – signed (2 yr/$1.75M) (5/07)
• Antero Nittymaki – signed (2 yr/$2.54M) (6/07)
• Kimmo Timonen signed (6 yr/$6.3M/yr) (6/07)
• Scott Hartnell signed (6 yr/$4.2M/yr) (6/07)
• Bradon Coburn signed (2 yr/$2.6M) (11/07)
• Mike Richards signed (12 yr/$5.7M) (12/07)
• Jeff Carter signed (3 yr/$5M) (6/08)
• Steve Eminger signed (1 yr/$1.2M) (6/08)
• Randy Jones signed (2 yr/$2.75M) (7/08)
• Riley Cote signed (3 yr/$550K) (7/08)
• Joffrey Lupul signed (4 yr/$4.25M) (7/08)
• Danny Briere signed (We all know)
• Jared Ross (minor league)
• Jim Dowd
• Rory Fitzpatrick
• Ossi Vaananen
• Glen Metropolit

Overall, not a bad list. Regardless of trades (Some good – Coburn; Some bad – Upshall), this list shows what direction Homer wants to go in more than trades. With trades, Homer may have wanted somebody else, settled for who he got, or moved someone he had to but didn’t want to, etc. These signings, to me, are generally solid. There are many that stand out as terrible decisions, and they generally show a shift toward skilled players. Also, most are 2 year extensions with a few exceptions. (This is where I wonder about the Timonen deal. 6 years is a long time. I didn’t know he was signed for that long.) Generally, this would be good. However, it has led to many problems.

First, the salary cap. I know it was new, and I know this is Homer’s first job, and I know he inherited a team that finished last in the Conference. However – and I think he would admit to as much – last season was unacceptable. Flexibility is a must, especially considering injuries. We cannot have college kids playing one game (a whopping 5 minutes!) since that helps neither them nor us. Gotta get that fixed.

Second, smart spending. Lupul’s contract is a tad large as is Hartnell’s, Jones is over-paid, and Briere’s contract is too big for too long. These go a long to to preventing solid third and fourth line guys like Upshall, Jiri Hudler, or Max Talbot from being affordable. Hopefully, Homer is now aware of this.

Lastly, I would like to see at least one of those four contracts just mentioned moved. Preferably Briere (pipe-dream), then Jones, then Lupul (only because he would bring more back than Hartnell). Moving those would allow even more money to be saved and spread. Despite a clamoring for Jay Bouwmeester, if his contract is anything like Brian Campbell’s, stay away. That’s another long-term, high price contract that will only tie our hands in 2-4 years. I’d much prefer Komisarek or Beauchemin, or even Rob Scuderi who will be much cheaper. With Sbisa up, and any number of our minor leaguers, defense would then only be a problem if there is an injury. So I vote resign Alberts or Kukkonen as a “In case of emergency” guy.

Having Powe as a third line center, signing another center such as Rob Niedermeyer, Jiri Hudler, Erik Christensen, or Chad LaRose. This is only if Briere can be moved. If he isn’t, there is no need to sign a center with our small amount of cap dollars. (Ross and Matsumoto will do just fine for 3rd or 4th line temporaries.)

If Lupul is traded or Knuble is not resigned, a player in their mold needs to be signed in their place. If Lupul is traded, Giroux will fill that role, but a Scottie Upshall type is needed on the third line. Other options: Colby Armstrong, Drew Stafford, Mikael Samuelsson, Ryan Callahan. (Note: only Samuelsson is a UFA, the rest are RFA) I know they aren’t Upshall, but they are talented wingers who might come cheap, if a pick isn’t too much for most people. Other than that, the right wingers this year aren’t the best if they aren’t named Gionta and Hossa. So this is a place to save money.

Oh, and I don’t like the Esche rumors. I think I’d rather have Munroe than Esche. But there, my preference: 1) Nitty, bad hip willing; 2) Anderson; 3) Clemmensen; 4) Munroe; 5) Boucher; 6) Tellqvist.

Anyway, the Penguins proved that playing as a team, sacrificing your body, being mentally prepared, avoiding mistakes, and burying your chances will get you a Cup. Philly just needs a few minor pieces with some better coaching (Still bitter that Stevens watched Berube draw up the potential-season-saving play, but that’s a whole other topic.)

In somewhat of a different direction. I would like to comment on the idea that the Flyers are somewhat “behind the times” here. I think that you mentioned something that I have been considering for a while. I dunno if this is what you meant Mike, but here’s how I see it:

It truly baffles my mind that the Flyers can have the second-highest regular season winning percentage all-time in the NHL and have not won a cup while Detroit has won 4 and NJ has won 3. I have no explanation for it and its frustrating (obviously). I do take a lot of pride in that the Flyers are year in and year out among the groupings of elite teams and have been that way for the better part of their existence. That is a pretty damn good tradition to follow. The Flyers may not have been one of the Original Six, but they have an incredible history and tradition that, rightfully so, has been built on and followed. And why not? That tradition includes hard work and (very) tough play partnered with grit, skill and teamwork. To me, that is the embodiment of how hockey should be played and some of the most important keys to success. It has worked very well, one might say, as the Flyers are, as has been mentioned, one of the most consistently elite teams in hockey history. But, the ultimate trump card is played when we look at the 0 in the column of recent Stanley Cup championships. Its hard to knock the Flyers organization because they have done what they thought would bring us the Stanley Cup, but at the same time we have yet to win the Cup. Changes need to be made and things done differently, which is part of what, I think (not to put words in your mouth), you are harping on Mike. I am with you . . .

I think the Flyers are somewhat caught in limbo. What I mean by that is they are trying to maintain the traditional aspect of what Flyers hockey is in a league that has changed. I don’t really have an excuse for why the Flyers did not win the Stanley Cup in the ’90’s and early 2000’s except they were just unlucky. There is no doubt in my mind that the Flyers were good enough to but found themselves in a league with teams such as the Red Wings during their Yzerman years, New Jersey with Brodeur in goal and other teams like the Foresberg/Sakic led Avalanche. This is not an excuse, but I feel like talent is somewhat more spread out these days and those were some incredible hockey teams. Imagine today’s team in the late 90’s without cap problems.
Now, we are looking at a league that has evolved considerably. Notice that in the 4 years since the NHL Lock-Out in ‘04-’05 we have had 4 different Cup winners. It is really hard to repeat (despite the Red Wings’ best effort, which for the sake of hockey’s integrity, was not good enough) and shows that teams are still trying to adjust to the New Rules and regulations the league has in place. I think that the Flyers are one of those teams. And this is the limbo that I mentioned. I feel like one of the Flyers biggest struggles has been their inability to adjust to the “new” NHL. With the Flyers, there is always the tradition of Flyers’ hockey that is in the back of the organizations mind, which isn’t bad necessarily, as I said before. But, I think there are aspects of what the Flyers are doing that are outdated and think that the Flyers brass need to tweak and adjust their goals, updating them a bit, and starting to recreate/redefine what Flyers hockey is for the current era.

I think there is a healthy way of connecting to the Flyer tradition that runs so deep with all of us but at the same time evolve and adapt so that we can add onto that Flyers legacy. Maybe getting away from whats been the “typical” Flyers approach/mentality/persona is what will bridge the gap from merely making the playoffs to hoisting the cup and rubbing Crosby’s greasy fingerprints that have defiled the Holy trophy we all desire so badly.

. . . However, I am still trying to find out what this would look like.

Pittsburgh won because they were so bad for so long and got top draft picks for being so bad. On top, they received Crosby in an “interesting” lottery after the lost season.

As well, many of their role players are so young that they have not received their pay day yet. That usually comes after you win a cup (should happen soon). In the meantime they were not strapped by the cap to cut anyone, yet add solid players like Guerin and Kunitz.

No one wanted to see the part time fans across the state win the Cup but unfortunately they did.

Red Wings, solid organization for a long time, if we are going to learn anything from another franchise, lets learn it from them. Build from within, scout Europe like no on else and cross your fingers that your goalie can come up big in the playoffs.

Flyers Hockey. Let’s just play hockey and do it well and we will party like our lives depended on it afterwards.

Again, I have no issue with the team playing tough. I’m actually very much in line with what flyrsfrk05 is saying above here… we need to adapt our “Flyers hockey” mentality to today’s game. In other words, how can we still be The Flyers and succeed in today’s NHL? This is why I asked in my original post, “What needs to change? What needs to stay the same?”

We seem to agree that, for the most part, the Flyers have done a good job. That much needs to stay the same. Here’s what I think needs to change about “Flyers hockey” to succeed:

1. Change the coaching system.
2. Get some Russian players in here. At the very least, get a bit more of a “European” feel to the team.

I don’t have to explain point number 1. We need to move up and down the ice as a unit, take time and space away from our opponents, and do more than simply playing positional hockey. Definitely keep the fundamentals strong, but play more aggressively. Force opponents to make (hopefully bad) decisions with the puck, and generate scoring chances that way IN ADDITION to our normal strength at cycling the puck in the offensive zone. If we can do this with our current players, we should improve.

As for point number 2, our team is all Canadian and Finnish, with a few Americans here and there. That’s all well and good, but the most successful teams have a solid European influence as well. We’ve had our share of talented Swedes and Finns here over the years. Let’s get some more. And for the love of God, they must be doing something right in Russia so let’s try to bring some Russian players on board. Who are the best players in the league right now? Datsyuk, Malkin, Ovechkin. Who is supposedly the next big star goalie? Varlamov. Notice a trend?

My point is that hockey is a global game, now more than ever. It seems like the Flyers are trying to move in this direction through the draft, which is great. Let’s keep doing it and hopefully we’ll make headway sooner than later.

To sum up: I’m very proud of our winning tradition, our history, and everything it means to be a Flyers fan. The further this discussion goes, I’m seeing that we need to make some adjustments which seem stark now but, in the grand scheme of things, are pretty minor. Still, they need to be made so that “Flyers hockey” can once again be something for other teams to emulate.

In case Emery doesn’t work out, and in case Ericsson isn’t ready yet, here are next season’s UFA and RFA goalies. There are some interesting names on this list.